Author Topic: 13 mo. Tummy or teeth? Allergy or intolerance? Pain related refusal or dislike?  (Read 10427 times)

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Offline Erin M

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Yay!  So glad you had a good GI visit.  :)  I hope it leads to some answers for you.

Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Okay....so we're still a mess. We had a string of good days...he ate a bit more and was STTN and whatnot. But now we're kind of back to a TON of food refusals and poor sleep and screaming. Through the past few weeks his stool has still been looser (not watery, but not as firm as you'd think it would be) and very pasty and dark in color. I had gotten stool samples to mail to the GI and stupid mommy mush brain...I addressed the envelopes incorrectly and they got returned to me...so not sure if there is blood present or not....none that I can SEE, but he never had any visible...just tested positive with the kit at the ped's office.

Either way, seems to me that avoiding dairy and soy as much as we can.....(he ends up accidentally taking food off of DD or whatever and getting a tiny bit when it's unavoidable)....would improve the stools and it doesn't seem to be the case. Unless prevacid can make the stools this way? The GI didn't mention this. OH, but I forgot the dark color could be the formula...maybe it's also contributing to the consistency.

Anyway, I can not seem to get him to eat much of anything besides:

*cheerios
*fruit (including dried fruits like raisins)
*chicken nuggets and occasionally plain chicken that I've cooked
*waffles or pancakes
*a tiny bit of pasta (which he wasn't eating before so that's an improvement)
*rice cakes
*coconut milk yogurt

He generally spits out, mashes onto his tray, throws onto the floor, screams NO and pushes away most other foods:

*vegetables
*meats: Tried hamburgers, hot dogs, pork chops, grilled chicken, meatballs, meatloaf, sausages (both the Italian style and ground/patty breakfast style).
*beans
*fish: Tried cooking fillets, wouldn't eat, tuna fish from a can which he wouldn't eat and also fish sticks,which he took a SMALL amount of.

He also won't take any formula or coconut milk in a cup....only a bottle...which the doctors want him to be off of. But he is not going to take in anywhere near the amount the GI wants him to if I give him cups...he just throws them and refuses to drink. He'll take a small amount of coconut milk sometimes in a cup...but generally will only drink water or diluted juice from a cup (the juice we are now cutting out of his diet to avoid filling him up with basically empty calories).

If I let him...which I have to avoid now as it is not only "snacking" which I want to avoid as much as possible, but most of the ones we have around are NOT dairy/soy free..he would eat ALL day: crackers, granola bars, chips, cakes, cookies, etc.

I try to be really non-chalant. I try to let him "play" and touch and taste and eat meals WITH me and DD. When done I try to just move along....but he is generally screaming and grabbing for our food or pointing at cabinets. So we're still at the point where he is hungry and refusing at the same time. Holding out for what he wants and spitting out and throwing what he doesn't. He is generally discontent when it comes to eating and I try SO hard not to let him realize I am stressed out...but I am and it's hard to hide it. I even try to have me and DD eat the SAME things as him, dairy free and all (or slightly modified, but looking the same).

Sorry this is really long.







Offline clazzat

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(((hugs))), Nicole. I'm sorry that it is not really getting better. I don't have any real suggestions - x has suddenly turned really picky too, so he is not eating very much, although not quite to the extent of l.

Does he do better when it is something that he can pick up and eat himself? One of the problems that I am having is that x really wants to feed himself but he doesn't understand enough to put a spoon in his mouth so he literally doesn't eat anything if I let him feed himself. He will eat bagels, though, and cheese scones which I make with goats/sheeps cheese and mushed up veggies - do you think he would eat that?

Btw, I really wouldn't stress about the bottles - definitely bigger issues to deal with!

Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Almost all foods I give him he feeds himself. Even yogurt and applesauce he only tolerates me feeding him for about half the container. Then he tries to spoon feed himself but doesn't get the spoon in the right direction...though he will allow me to "help" him a bit.

I've never tried goat/sheep cheese. I wonder if he would tolerate that and if I could use it to substitute in for other cheeses in meals, etc.???

He makes a right mess, but he DOES eat more than he otherwise would b/c I allow him to feed himself. It also allows him to touch, play with, and taste foods even if he doesn't swallow them which is a step in the right direction I suspect..

Can you share how you make the scones?







Offline clazzat

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Sorry it's taken me so long!
4oz self-raising flour; 2oz plain or wholemeal flour; 0.5tsp baking powder; 0.5tsp mustard powder; 0.5tsp salt (optional); 1oz butter, softened; 4oz cheese, grated; 1 egg; 2-3 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 200C/400F

Mix flours, baking powder, mustard and salt. Rub in butter until it looks like breadcrumbs (you can put it all in a food processor), add 3oz of cheese and mix. I add puréed veggies at this point - anything you like: spinach, tomato,  sweet corn,  peas etc. then add more flour until the dough looks right. Mix the egg and milk, then add a little bit to the dough - add more flour if you need to. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 0.75in then cut out shapes. Put on greased baking tray and cook for 10-15 mins, until they look risen and golden.

I've got a mini quiche recipe too if you want it.

Offline ~*Nicole*~

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I was googling after you mentioned using goat cheese and it says it is very similar to cow's milk protein so I may need to skip cheese. I wonder if he'd eat it with the other stuff? Might need to try it out.

I've made variations of quiche and mini quiche, but yes, please do share!


So I finally got the new formula ordered and delivered. Though I chose to only have 4 cans of the "plain" flavor delivered as opposed to the 12 the GI prescribed to be sure he likes it first. He did not like the vanilla flavor. He took the plain last night and this morning (even some plain in a cup w/ breakfast!!!) So that is a plus.

He is still not eating much. And I keep giving in to his requests because I'm so stressed about the lack of calories. Esp. as he's taken to waking at night again and wanting a bottle, which it seemed during the periods of time when he was eating more during the day he wasn't doing and was STTN. Last night out of salmon, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, and rice, he ate some green beans. (Although that's all DD ate as well :( )

His stool is still a bit gross and for a few days he was going 3 or 4 times. It also burned his skin a bit the other day and clearly hurt when I wiped him as he would scream. I am thinking there is something else going on.

This is so frustrating!

He will eat coconut or almond yogurt. I am thinking of trying a smoothie again.

And he'll eat dry cat food....UGH!







Offline *Kara*

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And he'll eat dry cat food....UGH!

I think they all give this one a shot ;)  DD has tried it too - though she wasn't a fan!

Huge hugs hun....

How old is Lucas now?  You need a new ticker ;)

I almost wonder if you are in a phase similar to what we had around 12-14 months of age... it seemed to coincide with the move from mostly purees to table foods... we had a tonne of refusals and a huge change in appetite/volume taken.  It only got better when I just followed DD's lead... molars may have played a role too (might be something to that burning poop he had). 

As for the docs telling you to refuse certain things like Cheerios etc... just know that my younger sister is healthy as an adult and now eats more than Cheerios and raisins each day even though my mom thought she never would!



Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Quote from: ~*Nicole*~ on Today at 01:12:13 AM
And he'll eat dry cat food....UGH!

I think they all give this one a shot Wink  DD has tried it too - though she wasn't a fan!

Oddly enough, BOTH of mine were huge fans.  He keeps going back for more...as did DD when she was younger. ICK.

How old is Lucas now?  You need a new ticker Wink

Whoops! 14.5 months. I will rectify that when I finish this post! Thanks hehe

I almost wonder if you are in a phase similar to what we had around 12-14 months of age... it seemed to coincide with the move from mostly purees to table foods... we had a tonne of refusals and a huge change in appetite/volume taken.  It only got better when I just followed DD's lead... molars may have played a role too (might be something to that burning poop he had).
That's a good though...and maybe it is and we just have to ride it out...but I'm not so sure. I feel like it has been going on for far too long. :( There have been several teething episodes as well as him having been on table food for quite some time now. I was following his lead until we realized he basically gained no weight between 9 and 12 months. I had noticed he was spitting out and refusing a lot of food but wasn't overly concerned until both the ped. and the original GI we saw were concerned about his lack of weight gain at his 1 year check up. We thought teething was the culprit at the time, but he cut his molars and the trouble continued. Then he started teething his canines and although he still is, the food issues pretty much remained constant throughout. Looking back, he had started to spit out purees as well, but I had thought it meant he wanted "real" foods so gave him those.








Offline *Kara*

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he had started to spit out purees as well, but I had thought it meant he wanted "real" foods so gave him those.

DD did this too - refused purees but wasn't really all that great with most table foods yet (she was teething molars and refused to chew most things)... it was tricky for sure!

As for the weight gain issue - DD isn't a huge gainer either... she was always very steady around the 50th centile... then she slowed down when she learned to crawl and much more so when she started to walk/move more.... she was the same weight from 12 months until just a few weeks ago!



Offline ~*Nicole*~

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See, that's the thing. He does really well with chewing. When he wants something, he'll chew it no problem. It's the refusal that gets me. Esp. when I assume he's full and take him out of his chair. Two seconds later he might see DD with food and scream like he wants it. Or try to try MY food, even if it's the same food he had. Then of course he spits it out when he realizes that it was the same. I am worried that he behaves like he is still hungry, but then won't eat....unless it's something he really wants/likes.

(AND....I FORGOT the ticker!!!)







Offline *Kara*

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Nice new ticker ;)

Hmm, it really just sounds like a fussy toddler thing to me...  I don't think it's anything serious in terms of intolerance/allergy...

This one might fall under that category we all love: Toddlers will not starve themselves.



Offline ~*Nicole*~

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So you think that rather than him refusing to eat a lot of foods being BECAUSE of any intolerances, it is a separate thing. So there is "reflux/intolerance" as one issue and "picky toddler refusing to eat a lot" as another issue???

I know they will not starve themselves, but he does seem pretty intent on surviving on the bare minimum...which has to affect his overall growth and development.







Offline *Kara*

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So you think that rather than him refusing to eat a lot of foods being BECAUSE of any intolerances, it is a separate thing. So there is "reflux/intolerance" as one issue and "picky toddler refusing to eat a lot" as another issue???

Yup - I am sure that there is some level of overlap, but more than anything, picky toddler asserting his choices ;)


he does seem pretty intent on surviving on the bare minimum...which has to affect his overall growth and development.

Is he falling off of his growth curve at all?  How are other aspects of his social development?



Offline ~*Nicole*~

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UGH addressing this picky stuff is going to be such a pain.

Socially he is totally fine. Mobility/language, etc. is totally fine.

Growth, yes he has fallen off his curve. That is the only concern at the moment.







Offline *Kara*

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Fallen off a lot or just a faulter?

For example - my wee one has bounced from 3rd to 25th centile for height and 25th to 50th for weight... my doctor has never been worried about it though.